Boot-top fastener



June 24, 1930. G. l.. VAN DINTER BOOl1 TOP FASTENER Filed April 6, 1928Patented June 24, 1930 GEORGE L. VAN DIN'IER, OF MISHAVJAKA, INDIANA,ASSIGNOR T0 MISHAWAKA RUBBER AND WOOL'EN MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OFMISHAWAKA, INDIANA.,

A CORPORATION OF INDIANA :BOOT-TOP FASTENER Application filed April 6,1928. Serial NO. 267,840.

My invention relates to boots having a main or lower leg portionreaching substantially to the knee and an extension or top portion ofrelatively flexible material which may be pulled upwardly over the legabove the knee or folded down around the main portion of the boot, andmy invention has reference more particularly to a fastener for holdingthe boot top or extension in 'th-:y

folded position.

Boots which extend above the knee are usually constructed with a mainboot section or lowerl leg portion reaching substantially to the kneeand of sufficiently stiff material to be practically self sustaining inan upright position, and this main section has an extension or upper legcovering of quite flexible material, which may be pulled upwardly abovethe knee when desired. lrusing boots of this character, when the fulllength is not required, it is customary to fold the upper portion orextension down around the main section somewhat in the form of a widecuff, which, however, fits loosely around the main section and has anundesirable tendency to work downwardly in use.

The principal objects of my invention are to provide improved means forholding the folded top of a boot against displacement; to support thefolded boot top by a detach able connection with the upper end of themain section of the boot; to provide a fastener which will not chafe,wear or otherwise impair the serviceability of the boot; to utilize thefastener attachments as boot straps for pulling the boot on; and in eralto provide simple and convenient means for supporting the folded boottop against displacement and which does not impair appearance orusefulness of the boot.

On the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a high top boot having the top foldeddown and sup-v ported by my improved fasteners; p

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail perspective view of one of the fastenerstraps;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. l; and

Fig. a is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing a modified form of fastenerstrap.

Referring to the drawing, the reference numeral l indicates the mainsection or lower leg portion of the boot, which has an extension 2 ofrelatively flexible material, secured to and forming a continuation ofthe upper end of the main section l, so that it may be pulled upwardlyabove the knee to provide an upper leg covering. The boot in connectionwith which my invention is shown herein, is of the form fitting typewith' expansible ankle and instep portion to facilitate inserting andremoving the foot, and has fasteners 3 for closing together thecxpansible portion, but it is to be understood that this form of boot ismerely used for illustrating the application of my invention7 which isnot limited to this particular' type of boot.

The upper leg covering 2 is oftentimes folded down around the section lin a sort of cuff like form, as shown in Figs. l and 3, and it isdesirable to hold the folded section 3 against displacement or droppingdown from the folded position. For this purpose I have provided thesection l with avstrap 4, of flexible material such as fabric or fabricand rubber, at each side of the upper end of the section l, as shown inFig. 1and firmly secured between layers of material forming the sectionl, as shown in Fig. 3, and these v straps detachably connect with theupper end of the extension 2 when the latter is folded down around thelower leg portion l of the boot. Any suita'ble fastener may be employedto connect the straps 4L with the extension 2, a convenient form beingthe well known snap fastener, and Iprefer to secure the male element or.stud part 5 of the fastener to the strap and the female ork socketportion 6 of the fastener to the eXtension 2 near the upper endsubstantially as shown. The strap 4,' when serving to support the foldedboot top, is turned downvvvardly over the upper edge of the boot sectionl between the portions 7 and Soif the folded boot top, so that it islargely concealed and affords a neatand convenient fasteningarrangement. Furthermore the straps 4 either in the fastened orunfastened condition, may serve the additional purpose of boot strapsfor applying or pulling on the boot. These straps may also be made inthe form of loops as indicated at 9 in Fig. /l-, and the fastenerelement 10 is in this case secured to one side of the loop to permit thefingers to be inserted within the loop and between the two side portionsof the folded strap 9.

Vtlith a boot top fastener of this character there are no compressing,creasing or other strains imposed on the parts of the boot and no metalparts, such as there would be if a clamp fastener were employed, thatcan chafe or wear or otherwise impair the serviceability of the boot, asthe straps d or 9 loosely engage any parts with which they come incontact, and moreover, they are of flexible material which will notchafe or injure the materials of the boot. These fasteners not onlysupport the folded boot top in an even cuff like form but they also holdthe folded boot top closely against the sides of the section l, so thatchating and interference between the boot top in walking is avoided.

Vhile I have shown and described my invention in a ineferred form, l amaware that various changes and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the principles of my invention, the scope of which is tobe determined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. The combination with a high top boot having a main portion and anextension portion foldable down around the main portion, of a flexiblemember at the upper end of one of said portions detachably connectingwith the upper end of the other portion for holding the ente sion.portion in folded position.

2. The combination with a high top boot having a relatively stiff footand leg portion with a relatively flexible tubular exten-sion portion atthe upper end thereof which folds down around the main foot and legportion, of a member attached at the upper end of one of said portionsand affording a detachable and flexible connection with the upper end ofthe other portion to suspend the outer fold of the folded extensionportion from the upper end of the foot and leg portion.

3. The combination with a high` top boot having a main portion with astrap at the upper end and an extension foldabe down around the mainportion, of means at the upper end of the extension detachably con-ynecting with said str'apfor holding the eX- tension in folded position.

4. The combination with a high top boot having a main portion and atubular eX- tension foldable down around the main portion, of a snapfastener connectirxy the upper end of the extension in folded positionto the upper end of the main portion of the boot with the fastener atthe upper end of the folded extension and the outer layer of the foldedextension suspended at its upperend from the upper end of the mainportion of the boot.

5. The combination with a high top boot having a main portion and anextension foldable down around the main portion, of a strap on the mainportion having a detachable connection with the extension whereby thelatter is suspended in folded position from the top of' the main portionof the boot` 6. The combination with a high top boot having a mainlportion and an extension foldable down around the main portion, of astrap at the upper end of the main portion, and means for detaehablyconnecting the Ctrap with the upper end of the extension zoiholding thelatter in folded position.

7. r1he combination with a high top boot having a main portion and anextension foldable down around the main portion, of a pair of bootstraps at the upper end of said main portion for manually pulling theboot on, and means for detachably connecting the boot straps with theextension for holding the latter in folded position.

8. rEhe combination with a high top boot having a main portion and anextension folds-.ble down arounf the main portion, of a pair of bootstraps at the upper end of the main portion, and snap fasteners for co;nesting the upper end of the extension with the boot straps for holdingthe eXtenin folded position.

9. The combination with a high top boot having a main portion and anextension foldable down around the main portion, of a pair of loopsarranged respectively at opposite sides of the main portion and at theupper end of the latter, and means for detaehably connecting the loopswith the upper end of the extension for holding the latter in foldedposition.

GEORGE L. VAN DINTER.

